Management in Rural Community Work

Abstract

‘We are very happy with our patchworker. I have little idea what she does, but she seems to get results, and communities like her.’

‘What I most like about my job is the freedom. I can get on with what I want without any interference, and know that people appreciate what I’m doing.’

‘On the whole, we have had a good year in this county. Two village hall committees managed to build new halls, and several more undertook major renovation projects. We held three major conferences for parish councils: on rural housing, planning and community care. The number of entries was up on previous years for our Best Kept Village Competition. And we ended the year with a slight financial surplus.’

These three statements are paraphrased from the extensive interviews which we conducted with rural community work people throughout the UK. The first quote came from a manager of a small voluntary agency, who had to fit his management and administrative work around his own direct fieldwork responsibilities. The second one came from an out-posted patch community worker, who had been doing the job for about two years, and who had had no previous community work experience.